Florida couple's front-yard garden legal after 6-year battle

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Several years ago I removed all of my turf grass and planted shrubs and flowers,

mostly native plants. I was helped by a specialist in permaculture, meaning the plants were chosen to complement and help each other (for example, I planted Baptisia, a legume, next to the fruit trees). As the plants grew and filled in they crowded out most of the undesirable plants, so I don't even have to do a lot of weeding - although that very annoying creeping bellflower keeps turning up. The city hasn't given me any trouble - this is something that seems to be catching on around here - but my next-door neighbor has been a total dick about it, and even went so far as to spray Round-Up on the plants along the property line two summers ago, killing a couple of shrubs and a small tree. Lawyers got involved so there haven't been any problems since, but he made it obvious from the beginning that he objects to my "wild-looking" lawn. Too bad.

This morning when I went out to get the newspaper I saw a monarch butterfly and a tiger swallowtail butterfly and dozens of bees on the monarda and the purple coneflowers. Made my day.